"There's a mystery in town, so call the coolest pup around, ohScoo-oby, a pup named Scooby-Doo (Scooby-dooby doo, scooby-doo!)"

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo is a cartoon show featuring younger versions of the Scooby-Doo cast (but is not set in the same continuity). It featured the "Scooby-Doo Detective Agency" as pre-teens who, like their older counterparts, solved supernatural themed mysteries in which the Monster of the Week turned out to be some crook in a mask. The show lasted from September 1988 to August 1991 for a total of 30 episodes.

The show is a lot wackier and zanier than the original show. It hung plenty of lampshades on tropes used by the previous incarnations of the series. The show also made significant changes in the primary cast from the original source, justified in that they were younger and less mature versions of the original characters.

More recently, the concept of revisiting the cast in their earlier years appeared in the movie Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (meant to be a prequel to the original Scooby-Doo live action movie series) and the video game Scooby-Doo: First Frights. The movie set them as meeting in high school while the video game had them meet in elementary school.

The show uses several of the same tropes as the original series as well as many of its own. See the Shout-Out page here.

Tropes:

Adaptation Expansion: This show is the first to give us Doo Manor and that it is to be Scooby's upon adulthood. In the franchise's Archie comic, this is expanded up Doo Manor, being Spooky Doo's and is left to Scooby on a part of him knowing his nephew to be a coward. This also explains why during Scooby's puppyhood Dada Doo and Uncle Horton would both be living at their brother's home, until the rightful heir came of age.

Agent Scully: At the end of "Ghost Who's Coming to Dinner", Daphne still doesn't believe in ghosts even after spending nearly the whole episode interacting with one.

Animation Bump: Common when Glen Kennedy was animating; the characters suddenly moved in a more fluid, bouncy manner, and were more prone to bizarre movements and bouncy wild takes.

Arkham's Razor: Used almost every episode during The Summation, every suspect is listed... and the one character who isn't listed for whatever reason (too unlikely, had an alibi, or the writers simply didn't feel like including him) is invariably the culprit.

Batman Gambit: This is how the gang catches the monster in "The Schnook Who Took My Comic Book". The gang pretends to have found another limited edition Commander Cool comic book (the monster had previously stolen the other one). This prompts the monster to show up to take the (actually fake) comic book and allows the gang to catch him. It's a Batman Gambit because this plan would not have worked if the monster's secret identity, the comic book's creator, hadn't been so greedy as to try to make his limited edition the only one in the world.

Battle Butler: Dawson, the stand-in for Daphne's usual butler Jenkins, chases off a pack of angry stray dogs by acting even bigger and meaner.

Bigger on the Inside: Scooby's dog house. It looks like an ordinary doghouse from the outside, but inside it's a luxurious mansion, enough to make even Daphne a little jealous.

The Cameo: Yogi Bear and Ranger Smith appear in "The Story Stick". Yogi notably is portrayed as much more of a vicious wild animal than his regular self, scaring the villain off in one scene, and would be almost unrecognizable were it for the fact that he still has his trademark hat and tie on.

Catch Phrase: Many of the same from the original series and many others.

One time the gang said it for the culprit, she said, "How did you know I was gonna say that?".

"Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?"

Averted in "The Computer Walks Among Us". Scooby enters a dark closet when Velma kisses him.

"That will do, Jenkins."

"Yes, Miss Blake."

"It could only be...Red Herring!"note "I didn't do it! Hmph, what a weenie!"

"Let's split up, gang!" (always said by Fred when splitting up is completely inappropriate).

"There's no such things as ghosts!" Ironically, Daphne doesn't even believe the slightest possibility of monsters existing (even when they met an actual ghost), while in most series she believes, along with Scooby and Shaggy, the monster might be real (or at least more open-minded). Even her parents don't believe in ghosts.

Character Exaggeration: Done to Fred, Daphne, and Velma. Shaggy and Scooby are about the same as ever. That may be because it's close to impossible to exaggerate them. They've always had bottomless stomachs, they've always been complete cowards, and they've always done anything for a Scooby Snack or twenty. Sometimes a whole box.

Scooby simply adores Velma in this show. She gets as many "wet puppy kisses" from Scooby as Shaggy does.

Clear My Name: The gang helped Velma do this in one episode when she was facing suspension after being framed for using a robot (which she did create) to break in to the school lockers.

Conspiracy Theorist: Freddie frequently comes up with bizarre theories about aliens (or the mole people, or Red Herring) trying to conquer the earth in the most harebrained way imaginable.

Cosmetically Advanced Prequel: Averted for the most part. The setting is the early 1960's (which makes sense, as the original took place in the later 60's), and the music is rooted in Doo Wop and Motown. Though Velma has a computer, it's an impossibly bulky UNIVAC-style model.

Does This Remind You of Anything?: Daphne's parents "count money" on Tuesday nights, which lasts until the next day. Also, Scooby's reaction to eating a Scooby Snack. He moans with pleasure, then shoots into the sky as fireworks go off, and finally drifts back to earth with a happy smile on his face. Oh, and Shaggy usually holds him afterwards. This seems to be a Shout-Out to Snuffles the Tracking Dog from Quick Draw Mcgraw, who would often react that same way to getting a biscuit. Muttley has also done this.

This was made all the more ironic considering that Shaggy seems every bit the stoner he always was, even as a kid in this series. Or maybe he's just a goof.

Everybody Do the Endless Loop: Lampshaded by the characters yelling, "Start the music!" whenever a chase started. The chase montages were even filled with clips of the characters (and sometimes the monster) dancing.

Fairplay Whodunnit: Usually the clues to figure out who it is will be right there in the episode, although sometimes you'd have to ignore whatever funny antics are going on at the time to see them (for example, a suspect might be carrying some item that in hindsight helps prove he's the monster, but you might not see it because Shaggy and Scooby are having some funny reaction at the time).

Feud Episode: Shaggy and Scooby refusing to speak to each other throughout "Night of the Living Burger", which hinders the gang's attempts at solving a mystery involving a giantmonster hamburger.

Language Barrier: In the episode "Now Museum, Now You Don't", the monster of the episode is a "samurai ghost". However, at one point he tries to steal some valuable swords, and Velma says something to him in Japanese. He steals the swords anyway, but that proves he doesn't understand Japanese, since Velma was saying to him, "Those swords are fake." Now why would a Japanese ghost not understand Japanese? It's one of the major clues that he is actually the curator of the museum.

Also Denser and Wackier, as this series is also a lot more cartoony than the original series.

Lost in Imitation: This show developed the personalities of the heroes much more than the original show. Velma's braininess, Daphne's wealth, and Freddy's idiocy all became signature traits and have been a part of the franchise since.

Meaningful Name: Red Herring. Freddy always suspects him, to the point where other characters start to Lampshade this, but he was only the culprit once. And that one time was the one time Freddy wasn't allowed to accuse him.

Mid-Battle Tea Break: In "The Were-Doo of Doo Manor", just as the Were-Doo about to attack Shaggy and Scooby, a bell sounds, indicating that it's snacktime, so they all stop what they're doing and go to a table to eat. Once they're finished, Shaggy and Scooby run off and the Were-Doo chases after them.

Mythology Gag: This show brings back Ruby Doo, Scrappy's mother, who hadn't appeared since the early 1980s.

No Fourth Wall: In some episodes, the characters would talk to the viewers directly after catching the monster, asking them whether they had figured out who the monster is.

Not Quite Dead: In "Curse of the Collar", the gang deals with the ghost of the dogcatcher with a grudge against the Doo Family, Buster McMuttMauler. Which as usual wasn't real. But then later in the seires we see that the real Buster McMuttMauler is still very much alive as well.

Out-of-Character Moment: Played entirely for laughs, of course. In "The Story Stick", Velma finds a clue as usual and says "Jinkies", but this time nobody chimes in that it must be a clue, because everyone else is busy looking under tree stumps and the like and are too far away. Velma says "Jinkies" louder, but still they don't hear. So Velma gets so frustrated she brings out a megaphone and screams "I SAID JINKIES!!!" prompting Fred to finally say the line about Velma finding a clue.

Red Herring: Short of using an actual red fish, you just can't get more literal than this: Red Herring was the name of an actual character. Once an Episode, Freddy would accuse him of being the culprit; the accusation always came out of nowhere, with zero evidence to support it. Fred's logic was that Red was a jerk, and thus must be the villain. Red would always respond with an airtight alibi, much to Freddy's chagrin.

There was one episode where Red actually was guilty. This was, of course, the one time Fred didn't accuse him (the other characters had made a bet with Freddy that he couldn't go a case without accusing Red of anything). This led to him having a miniature Heroic BSOD, where he lay on the ground, pounding it with his fists while crying, "I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it I knew it!"

Shrinking Violet: Velma. In early episodes, her only lines in the entire show were "Jinkies" and the name of the real crook (when this happened, the other characters would usually exclaim: "Velma talked!" in complete astonishment). Later episodes gave her more lines, with "Jinkies" instead becoming her Verbal Tic that she'd found a clue.

Snub by Omission: After the villains are revealed, they will say the traditional, "And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling kids." Many times, Scooby would have to remind them to finish by saying, "Oh, and that puppy."

Something Completely Different: Toward the end of the original run, one episode was done in a Three Shorts format with simpler, more slapstick-oriented plots, possibly as a shout-out to the franchise's earliest attempts to change up the "monster mystery" formula (thankfully sans Scrappy).

Strictly Formula: Find bad guy, interview suspects, find clues, trap the monster, and let Velma reveal who the monster is. Of course, this formula has been found in many Scooby-Doo spin-offs, so it's naturally lampshaded to a great extent.

Took a Level in Dumbass: Freddie is significantly dumber than he's ever been depicted in previous Scooby-Doo incarnations. The personality trait stuck around in later productions.

Trademark Favorite Food: Although Shaggy and Scooby are known to eat just about anything, there's nothing they love more than Scooby Snacks.

Wild Take: Several. The animators seemed to have a running bet to see who could make the next wild take even more outrageous and surreal. Glen Kennedy's wild takes have often been the most off the wall.

You Meddling Kids: With emphasis on kids this time, and the villains often would refer to them as "pesky kids" rather than "meddling."

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